Clinton Camp Shakeup Coming
08 January 2008 3:00 am by Taylor Marsh
Hillary Clinton was nearly 20 minutes into her speech tonight in
Salem when a man stood up with a sign that read “Iron My Shirt”
and started chanting the phrase. Then a few seconds later another man stood
up with the same sign and was yelling it.“Oooh, the remnants of sexism are alive,” Clinton responded. …
..
Some things still haven’t changed. But after New Hampshire you can bet there will be some changes inside camp Clinton. Terry Moran talked about that last night on “Nightline.”
Amazing that men actually took the time to make signs emblazoned with “Iron My Shirt,” then showed up at a rally where the first viable woman running for president was having an event. Read Tom Watson. Dimwitted determination.
But when we have the number one radio host in America still calling liberated women
“feminazis.” Also calling serious, professional female reporters
“babettes.” No woman is surprised when two jackasses stand up with
a sign that insults.
So isn’t it fitting that Gloria Steinem has a op-ed in the New York Times
today, Women Are Never Front-Runners. Isn’t that the truth.
That’s why the Iowa primary was following our historical pattern of
making change. Black men were given the vote a half-century before women of
any race were allowed to mark a ballot, and generally have ascended to positions
of power, from the military to the boardroom, before any women (with the possible
exception of obedient family members in the latter). … ..… .. So why is the sex barrier not taken as seriously as the racial one?
The reasons are as pervasive as the air we breathe: because sexism is still
confused with nature as racism once was; because anything that affects males
is seen as more serious than anything that affects “only” the
female half of the human race; because children are still raised mostly by
women (to put it mildly) so men especially tend to feel they are regressing
to childhood when dealing with a powerful woman; because racism stereotyped
black men as more “masculine” for so long that some white men
find their presence to be masculinity-affirming (as long as there aren’t
too many of them); and because there is still no “right” way to
be a woman in public power without being considered a you-know-what. … ..
I’ve got to tell you that no matter what happens today, and you can expect
Barack Obama to win, there is another barrier being broken for the serious babettes. But also for Barack
Obama. He’s inspired young people and others to come out in droves,
with people wrapping around the building to see him. As for what Obama can do on the stump,
his style is unmistakable, with his rhetoric inspiring, to quote the inimitable Christopher Hitchens, a “tsunami of drool.”
So count me with Ms. Steinem. As long as there are men holding up “Iron My Shirt” signs, and men screaming
from cable and wingnut radio targeting one of the most gifted women in our country, I’m backing the chick, the babe, the broad. Because as Gloria says, women in the United States are
never front-runners, which applies even if her name is Clinton. To quote Michael Fauntroy: If Clinton’s coverage were half as positive as Obama’s since her rise to national prominence, then she might have the nomination locked up by now.
It would be a mistake to count Hillary Clinton out though, because it’s a long road to Super Tuesday. Also, her recent revealing moments, especially yesterday, including the eunuchs with the shirt sign, could have an impact, with her emotional moment being played all
day long yesterday and all night on cable, plus leading the nightly news. It was a free
media gift. Game changer? No, but it reveals a more open Clinton which we’ll be seeing more of after New Hampshire. But today, who knows? New Hampshire voters are an unpredictable brood.
Some very early returns are already online.
